Tommy Wingels​​ would have been an easy sell if Northwestern had a Division I hockey program when he was searching for a college.

Playing a high level of hockey near home would have been enticing for Wingels, who is from Wilmette and attended New Trier High School. Instead, he ended up playing at Miami University in Ohio because Northwestern, nor any other school in the state, had a D-I program.

Even now after a successful career at Miami and having gone onto the NHL and the Blackhawks, Wingels still wonders what could have been if an in-state school had been an option. He hopes future local players will at least have that choice.

Wingels may have played at Miami, but his roots are strong. He’d be willing to assist in making a Division I program happen in Illinois. That’s how important it is to him.

“I would love to help out in any way if people think it can help,” said the 29-year-old Wingels, who is in his first season with the Blackhawks after previously playing for the San Jose Sharks and Ottawa Senators. “I think there are so many good players coming out of Illinois. I really feel that way. You look around the country there’s 30, 40, 50 players. I think Illinois is one of the top producers of D-I hockey players.”

Wingels is right about that last part. According to scholarshipstats.com, Illinois was home to 84 Division 1 men’s hockey players during the 2016-17 season. Only four states, Minnesota (201), Michigan (145), Massachusetts (113) and New York (92) produced more.

“I wish there was a team by now,” Wingels said. “I hope there will be a team in the next few years. I think Northwestern is about to. I know the push is kind of U of I right now. I think Northwestern is a logical place. Maybe I’m biased, I’m from the North Side here, but talk about proximity to Chicago, talk about being close to all these AAA teams around here, I think they have the resources and land to do it. Who doesn’t want to go to school right outside of Chicago? Hopefully we see it soon.”

Northwestern hasn’t formally expressed any interest in adding a Division I program. As of right now, Illinois is the lone school looking into adding hockey as a varsity sport. The NHL and NHLPA announced in June they were funding feasibility studies to explore adding men’s and women’s hockey programs at five schools, including Illinois.

Because the state doesn’t have a Division I program, Wingels and everyone else who has sought to play college hockey has had to go elsewhere. There are programs all around the country that benefit from that and have Illinois players on their rosters. Miami has three Illinois players, including Minnesota Wild prospect Louis Belpedio, on its roster.

Wingels stays apprised of the local players. He’s witnessed the boom of talent in the Chicago area. When he was coming up, there was just him and a few other teammates who went on from Team Illinois, a AAA program, to play at a higher level. Now, there are AAA programs, especially the Chicago Mission, that will have multiple future NHL players on their teams.

“It’s gotten better every year,” Wingels said. “When I first started, there were three or four kids in my team committed to college my major major year, and that was a lot. Now you have kids committing at 15, 16, and you have numerous kids on each team doing it. I think it’s a testament to the quality of players that Illinois is producing. I think hockey is getting better. I think kids are more prepared. I think kids are better athletes, better trained.

“It’s a whole different mentality now. I think everyone from a younger age now expects and wants to play college and wants to play in the NHL. I think that was different 10 years ago. I think at least for me growing up was a year-by-year thing. Let’s do what we can do to get to the next level. So, if you were in high school, it’s looking to get to junior. If you’re in junior, what can I do to get to college? Now it’s everyone’s dream from the get-go is to play college and the NHL, so it’s certainly changed. Illinois hockey coaches and USA hockey are doing an incredible job developing players.”

Wingels doesn’t have to look far to see that development. He knew of Ryan Hartman and Vinnie Hinostroza, two Chicago-area products, before he stepped into the Blackhawks locker room in training camp. They were friends and played with his younger brother Johnny Wingels.

Hartman and Hinostroza have both said they looked up to Wingels growing up, but Wingels was impressed by them too.

“It’s cool to hear younger players say that,” Wingels said. “Just as Hartzy and Vinnie say that about me, I say the same thing about them. I would come back from college and watch my brother’s games and see how special players those two were. They loved the game from that age, from a young age and you can see why they made it here.

“I think my brother thinks it’s very cool I’m playing with a couple of guys he grew up [with]. It’s fun. It’s great I think for parents of kids to see, people in the local community. I mean what’s a better way to promote Chicago hockey than to have local kids playing for your organization. I truly mean that. Not just the NHL, but your Chicago Steels, eventually, hopefully your college programs here. Let’s keep kids in-house, let’s keep kids local and keep building the brand of Chicago hockey.”

Wingels doesn’t think it would be long before an in-state program would be successful, whether it was Illinois or Northwestern.

“I think the Big Ten is growing immensely,” Wingels said. “I think it’s really good hockey. You see these teams; Penn State started a program five years ago and they’re a top program already, so it can be done. I think with the right people, right leadership, the right leadership from everyone down from the coaching staff to the athletic department to the people who are willing to invest the time and money into starting a program, you get the right people in there, it can be done quickly. Everyone wants results. That’s why you do stuff. To be able to do something like that and prove it can be done in 3-4 years is incredible.

“We have 3-4 AAA teams. We have a USHL team here. We have so many good players coming here. Why don’t we have college hockey? I think we’ll get there. I hope we get there. It’ll be fun to see when it does get there.”

(Top photo: Tom Szczerbowski/USA TODAY Sports)

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Scott Powers is the lead hockey writer for The Athletic Chicago. Previously, he covered the Blackhawks and the White Sox for ESPN Chicago. He has also written for the Daily Herald and the Chicago Sun-Times and has been a sportswriter in the Chicagoland area for the past 15 years. Follow Scott on Twitter @byscottpowers.